What Dreams May Come
by ShadowOfApate
Summary: Weaver goes to Africa with humorous results


Series: What Dreams May Come   
  
Title: Reunions   
  
Chapter: One/One   
  
Rating: R   
  
Pairing: KW/KL, KW/WP, KW/KL/WP   
  
Spoilers: Do you really need to ask? This is me we're  
  
talking about, of course there are.   
  
For season seven and eight.   
  
Beta Reader: Scotty ' The Bod ' Welles   
  
  
  
Summary: Kerry ends up with an imp who has a knack  
  
for causing trouble.   
  
  
  
Disclaimer: They don't belong to me, except for Winter  
  
Peace, who is my own creation.   
  
Note: This is in response to the challenge issued the  
  
other night for a happy fic. Well this is my attempt  
  
to answer that challenge. Remember I said attempt.   
  
I'm just no good at happy stuff.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The nubile body wrapped itself tighter around her,  
  
mumbling under her breath before falling into a deep  
  
sleep. Her heart melted under three weeks of  
  
memories. She ran her hands lightly over the luscious  
  
curves of the darkly tanned bronze skin of her lover,  
  
brushing the thick, midnight-black hair from her face.  
  
Even in the gradually increasing sunrise, filling the  
  
room with low orange, blues, and pinks, allowed her to  
  
see the thinly-creased lines on Winter's face.   
  
Precious, feather-light hands smoothed the woman's  
  
lines until the childish peace settled across her  
  
dreaming face.   
  
  
  
Three weeks of wandering her childhood home of Africa,  
  
learning about the 'woman' she was now responsible  
  
for. A promise to the shaman she'd known as a child  
  
had driven her there after what had happened at  
  
County. A promise made the night she'd left to come  
  
to America. Solemn, yet strangely silly, but no less  
  
important to both of them. She could still hear his  
  
raspy voice echoing in her ears, making her blood  
  
promise that the day she found herself she'd come home  
  
to see him.   
  
  
  
She had grown up around the mystic powers of the  
  
ancient tribe buried away from the technological  
  
society she now lived in. Experiencing the very  
  
things that people now scoffed at, that the scientist  
  
in her insisted was just a figment of her imagination  
  
because it couldn't be possible.   
  
  
  
Yet, the day she outed herself to Romano, she'd known.  
  
She'd found herself and it was time to go back, to  
  
fulfill her promise. The day she'd arrived, her old  
  
friend, the shaman's only 'daughter', adopted years  
  
before, had told her that he was dying. Leaving  
  
little room for doubt that he'd known that night so  
  
many   
  
years ago.   
  
  
  
When she'd entered the small hut, the image of her  
  
beloved mentor burned into her mind, staggering her.   
  
The man that had been so full of life was now lying  
  
helpless, holding on by a thread. The rich laughter  
  
and smile he wore was of the man she'd long admired.   
  
Also looking for the good.   
  
  
  
That night he'd explained everything, and made her  
  
swear on his deathbed that she'd undergo the necessary  
  
ritual to become Winter's mistress. His greatest fear  
  
being that his adopted daughter might end up in the  
  
hands of someone he would never trust with her life.   
  
  
  
The tattoo that he sported around his navel faded  
  
away, appearing on hers. His last jagged breath  
  
causing her a cascade of tears, barely registering the  
  
beautiful Imp that was now her responsibility...   
  
  
  
(** Nice touch. Eerily reminiscent of the symbiont  
  
transfer Dax went through on DS9... **)  
  
  
  
The alarm softly clicked on, the radio gently  
  
reminding her that she had to go back to work today.   
  
The 'woman' in her arms groaned, half-awake, and  
  
buried her face into her chest. Three thousand years  
  
and she still wasn't a morning person.   
  
  
  
"I need to get up." She tried to sit up, but Winter  
  
held her to the mattress, unwilling to give up her  
  
pillow yet. "Winter, I have to go."   
  
  
  
"No..."   
  
  
  
"That almost sounded human." She tried to pry the  
  
woman's arms from her, but was once again reminded of  
  
how strong she was. She cursed under her breath, not  
  
wanting to pull rank on the playful woman. "Winter, I  
  
need to get up. Now."   
  
  
  
Winter cracked her left eye open and mock-glared at  
  
her before rolling over to the other side of the bed.   
  
"Spoilsport..."   
  
  
  
She laughed as she heard the snuffing that indicated  
  
that Winter was asleep again. She'd learned the hard  
  
way over the weeks that the three-thousand-year-old  
  
imp could sleep through a World War without stirring.   
  
  
  
  
  
Tucking the covers around her lover, she began to  
  
process of getting ready.   
  
  
  
Behind her, Winter dozed softly, her dreams reflecting  
  
Kerry's innermost desires, working magically to make  
  
them a reality...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The tall blonde, lovingly nicknamed Dr. Legs, strode  
  
down the ever-busy hall. Blue eyes scanned the  
  
familiar ER for the one person that had caused her to  
  
be increasingly nervous over the last month. Her  
  
heart, her job, her very soul belonged to the short  
  
redhead that had unwittingly claimed her. Now, she  
  
had a second chance, and this time she was going to do  
  
it right.   
  
  
  
Kerry popped into view from the hall, only to  
  
disappear again into the lounge. She'd timed it so  
  
that she'd catch Kerry as she was going on lunch  
  
break. She headed inside the lounge, stopping to  
  
stare at the beautiful woman she'd missed so much.   
  
  
  
She licked her dry lips, moving her eyes down the body  
  
she knew intimately. The previously fair-skinned  
  
woman was now tanned, her overly thin body now firm  
  
and muscular. Weeks in Africa had done her health a  
  
great deal of good. Kim's stomach clenched as her  
  
mind began to imagine different scenarios.   
  
  
  
"Was there something you wanted?" Kerry asked her  
  
without turning.  
  
  
  
'Yes, you.' Kim swallowed the automatic response  
  
back, still amazed at how Kerry could always tell who  
  
and when someone was in the room, no matter the  
  
circumstances. "I wanted to thank you for what you  
  
did."   
  
  
  
She relaxed when Kerry turned to her smiling slightly,  
  
with no sign of hostility. "I simply did what I had  
  
to."   
  
  
  
Kim sighed at the stubborn woman that she loved. Even  
  
now, she wouldn't take any credit for a feat that  
  
would've sent most people running the opposite  
  
direction. "Nevertheless, thank you."   
  
  
  
"You're welcome."   
  
  
  
(** I'd reconsider the kiss before Winter comes in.   
  
It makes the kiss Kim lays on her after Winter's  
  
mind-zap seem a little anticlimactic. Maybe just a  
  
hint that a kiss is in store, just enough to make  
  
Kerry feel guilty when Winter catches them, like  
  
this... **)  
  
  
  
Kim pulled the shorter woman into an unexpected hug,  
  
and Kerry returned it, happy to put their argument  
  
behind them at last. Perhaps they would never again  
  
be the lovers they once were, but if they could at  
  
least be friends, as Kim once predicted they would...  
  
  
  
They pulled back to look each other in the face,  
  
exchanging smiles. But there was something else in  
  
Kim's eyes, something Kerry hadn't expected to see  
  
again.  
  
  
  
Kim kept her arms around Kerry's waist, her hands  
  
itching to touch her elsewhere. Body wound to the  
  
point that all she wanted was to be in her arms.   
  
"I've missed you."   
  
  
  
Kerry softened visibly with her words, their bodies a  
  
hairsbreadth from each other. A wave of confused  
  
desire swept through her; she'd been so certain that  
  
her relationship with Kim was over and done, and yet  
  
the way she felt now, the way Kim was acting...  
  
  
  
Her eyes dropped to Kim's lips, recalling how sweet  
  
they tasted. A low moan working its way between their  
  
bodies, on fire from the simple hint of caress. So  
  
craved that they yearned to arch against each other in  
  
momentary pleasure.   
  
  
  
The opening door caught her eye. "Wha...?"   
  
  
  
"This must be Kim, right?"  
  
  
  
Kerry broke away to look at the gorgeous woman that  
  
had just entered the room. "Winter..."   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
She walked over to her lover, embracing her  
  
reassuringly. "This isn't what it looks like," she  
  
assured Winter, all the while aware that it was  
  
EXACTLY what it looked like. Jealousy combined with  
  
an imp's magical powers could be a frightening  
  
combination.  
  
  
  
The mischievous imp relaxed minutely, but the  
  
dangerous glint in her eyes, focused on Kim, was still  
  
there. She needed to get Winter out of there, away  
  
from Kim, fast. She knew from the tribe's legends,  
  
and the shaman's stories about imps, that they had a  
  
habit of teaching people 'lessons' whenever they  
  
believed that person had committed a moral, emotional,  
  
or physical crime. Accidental or not.   
  
  
  
And Winter knew exactly what the story with Kim and  
  
her was. She was just grateful that Winter was now  
  
bound to serve her, so that she couldn't teach Kerry  
  
one of her famous lessons. Kim, on the other hand,  
  
was another story. If Winter was upset with Kim for  
  
breaking Kerry's heart, there was no telling what kind  
  
of 'lesson' she might inflict on the blonde...  
  
  
  
"Ahh, I've got it," the imp said, breaking into a  
  
sudden smile.  
  
  
  
Got what? What had that creature's imagination,  
  
combining centuries of wisdom and experience with a  
  
perpetually youthful simplicity, come up with?  
  
  
  
"Kerry, who is this wo...?" Kim's words broke off  
  
sharply as Winter traced a small design in the air  
  
with her fingers. The blonde suddenly smiled  
  
radiantly, as though forgetting that Winter was in the  
  
room, and turned the full force of her adoring gaze on  
  
Kerry.  
  
  
  
Winter smiled, all traces of disapproval gone. "Have  
  
I pleased you?" she said to Kerry, stepping aside to  
  
let Kim embrace her.  
  
  
  
Kerry paled. 'Oh no.' "Tell me you didn't...umprh."   
  
Kim's mouth cut off her words.  
  
  
  
She responded to the intense kiss that Kim was giving  
  
her, trying to remind herself that, while this was  
  
Kim, she was not in control of herself. Her actions  
  
were dictated by a force other than her own will. It  
  
felt so good, but it just wasn't right.  
  
  
  
With effort, she managed to push the love-lorn woman  
  
from her. "Winter, undo it," she ordered. "Now."   
  
  
  
"Wasn't this what you wanted? Your dreams are full  
  
of..." The imp pouted, making her full lips almost  
  
irresistible.  
  
  
  
Kerry pushed those thoughts away for later, turning  
  
her patented Weaver Glare on her. "I mean it. Take  
  
it off."  
  
  
  
Winter's eyes dropped to the green silk shirt she was  
  
wearing. "You read my mind," she said with a smile.  
  
  
  
"Not that! Whatever you did to Kim!"  
  
  
  
Winter shuffled her feet, and gazed lovingly at her  
  
through lowered lids. "I was only trying to help."   
  
  
  
"I know, but you can't do that. You can't treat  
  
people like puppets and force them to love someone.   
  
It isn't right."   
  
  
  
"Why?"   
  
  
  
"It's a matter of free will."  
  
  
  
Winter brightened. "Oh, the 'free will' idea. I  
  
remember discussing that with Jeremy Bentham and John  
  
Stuart Mill. But they both agreed that..."  
  
  
  
"WINTER!!" Kerry's eyes flashed furiously. She was  
  
more than aware of Winter's skills of distraction.   
  
"This is not a philosophy debate. Take off the love  
  
spell, or whatever you did to her, or I'll never  
  
forgive you."  
  
  
  
Perfectly formed shoulders slumped resignedly.   
  
"Fine." Winter waved her hand in the general  
  
direction of Kim.   
  
  
  
The tall blonde blinked a few times, her mouth gaping  
  
slightly as she remembered everything. "How...?   
  
Wh...bu..." Her eyes widened in horror and amazement  
  
as they fell on Winter. "How did you DO that?" she  
  
gasped. "You made me feel..."  
  
  
  
"Can you do something about her memory?" Kerry asked.  
  
  
  
Winter stared sheepishly at her feet. "Uh, not  
  
exactly. See when we teach someone a lesson, it's  
  
designed for them to remember it."   
  
  
  
"What...what are you?"   
  
  
  
Kerry winced slightly at the tone in Kim's voice.   
  
She'd been on the receiving end of it on a few  
  
occasions, and knew to stay far away when she was in  
  
one of these moods.   
  
  
  
"She's an imp," she supplied, hoping to spare Winter  
  
from Kim's wrath. Seeing the blank look on Kim's face  
  
she said even softer. "More commonly known as a  
  
genie."   
  
  
  
"You had her...?"   
  
  
  
"No! I did it on my own." Winter sniffed lightly. "I  
  
wanted to help. She's so miserable without you. I  
  
only wanted to get you two back together." Her face  
  
crumpled, like a scolded child, and tears began to  
  
fill her eyes.  
  
  
  
Kerry pulled Winter back into her arms, holding onto  
  
her tightly. She whispered into her ear, letting her  
  
know how much she cared about her. The softly spoken  
  
words made the mischievous woman sigh happily.   
  
  
  
She looked up to apologize to Kim, but she was already  
  
gone.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Are you mad at me?"   
  
  
  
Kerry stroked the soft black hair sprawled across her  
  
chest. Winter was so incredibly playful and smart,  
  
but she also had that underlying need for acceptance  
  
and approval. "No, I'm not mad," she said. "Just  
  
promise me that next time you'll talk to me first."   
  
  
  
Winter smiled happily at her. "I promise. I do love  
  
you, you know."   
  
  
  
"Yes, but..."  
  
  
  
"And not just because I belong to you. I may be bound  
  
by the rules of magic, but I have my own free will,  
  
too."  
  
  
  
Kerry knew. Growing up with Winter as a playmate,  
  
closer than a sister, it was impossible to think of  
  
her as property. Even if they'd been strangers,  
  
Kerry's underlying respect for other people would  
  
compel her to treat Winter as a person, albeit one for  
  
whom she was responsible.   
  
  
  
But not all her masters had been so generous or kind  
  
as Kerry and her shaman mentor. As potentially  
  
powerful as she was, Winter was bound by covenant and  
  
by nature to respect and obey whoever owned her, and  
  
to submit to their treatment of her. The scars that  
  
previous owners had given Winter, both emotional and  
  
physical, were apparent in the immortal woman's every  
  
action. At times like these, Kerry wanted nothing  
  
more than to kill the bastards responsible for doing  
  
this to her.   
  
  
  
Their shared grief over the shaman's loss, combined  
  
with Kerry's losing Kim, had attracted the imp to her  
  
on a more intimate level than Kerry expected. Gender  
  
and sexual orientation meant nothing to a being like  
  
Winter, and she'd had no reservations about becoming  
  
Kerry's lover. Kerry was more reluctant, afraid of  
  
abusing her power over Winter, as several of her  
  
former owners had, but she yielded to the lovely  
  
woman's affection in the end. It hadn't taken long,  
  
to be truthful...  
  
  
  
The musical doorbell cut through their comfortable  
  
silence, making Winter groan and bury her head under a  
  
pillow, and leaving Kerry to get the door. She  
  
grabbed her robe on the way to the door, tying the  
  
belt around her waist just before the door opened.   
  
  
  
"Kim."   
  
  
  
The tall blonde smiled shyly. "Can I come in?"   
  
  
  
She moved to allow her to pass, her stomach fluttering  
  
as their shoulders brushed. "If this is about what  
  
Winter did..."   
  
  
  
"It's not," Kim interrupted softly. "I was, um,  
  
surprised at first, but...it's like she told me things  
  
without words. Like when she took that...spell off  
  
me, she left some thoughts. Nothing controlling or  
  
harmful, just explaining things."  
  
  
  
Ohhh boy... "What kind of things?"  
  
  
  
"I understood that she wasn't jealous. I guess either  
  
she's above that kind of thing or she's not capable of  
  
feeling it. Not sure which. But she wanted me to  
  
know how much I hurt you."  
  
  
  
Kerry crossed her arms. "I'm glad that's all, but she  
  
still had no right to control your mind like that. If  
  
you don't want me, then no one should force you to..."  
  
  
  
"She didn't do anything like that, Kerry," Kim  
  
protested. "She just showed me some things, that's  
  
all."  
  
  
  
"But then...why did you kiss me?"  
  
  
  
Kim's smile lit up the room. "I wasn't prepared to  
  
experience all that so quickly, and I lost control.   
  
Like I was drunk or something. But she didn't make me  
  
do anything I didn't really want to do. Deep down."  
  
  
  
Kerry stared at her, desperately hoping, but unwilling  
  
to ask.  
  
  
  
The smile softened, the eyes growing moist. "I still  
  
love you."   
  
  
  
The whispered words were impossibly loud to her ears,  
  
her mind protesting this, telling her it was another  
  
trick. Her heart refused to believe it was real, not  
  
after Winter had promised her to leave Kim's mind  
  
alone. "I love you, too."   
  
  
  
The tension flowed from the blonde's body, her long  
  
legs closing the distance between them, their lips  
  
melding together perfectly.   
  
  
  
She carefully pushed Kim back, trying to find her  
  
voice in the sudden lust that filled her body.   
  
Regretfully, she started to tell the story that would  
  
probably send the woman she loved running. "Kim,  
  
about Winter..."   
  
  
  
(** This resolution, particularly, is one that only  
  
works if this is a one-part story. Subject, as  
  
always, to your approval. **)  
  
  
  
"You don't have to explain, Kerry."  
  
  
  
"I think I do." Her relationship with the magical  
  
being known as Winter Peace wasn't something she  
  
regretted, but it could have drastic effect on how Kim  
  
thought of her. Kim deserved to know the truth, in  
  
any case.  
  
  
  
"You're lovers. I know. It's okay."  
  
  
  
"It...it is?"  
  
  
  
"Uh-huh. Winter's spell left us with a kind  
  
of...understanding."  
  
  
  
Kerry looked suspiciously at her. "What kind of  
  
'understanding' exactly?"  
  
  
  
"About you," said Winter, behind her. Kerry turned  
  
her head to see the dark woman leaning in the doorway,  
  
wearing only Kerry's nightshirt and a pair of her wool  
  
socks, bunched at the ankles. Winter preferred to  
  
sleep in Kerry's clothes...or none at all. "I told  
  
you, I love you, and I want you to be happy. If Kim  
  
makes you happy, then you should be with her."  
  
  
  
"Yeah, and it's hard for me to resent someone who  
  
cares about you that way," Kim said.   
  
  
  
"You two belong together," Winter said. "I can sleep  
  
on the couch from now on, or...go back in the tattoo  
  
if you prefer." The last was added with obvious  
  
reluctance.  
  
  
  
"Absolutely not," Kerry stated. "I know you hate  
  
being confined in there, and you don't need to use the  
  
couch." The basement apartment had been vacant since  
  
Carter moved out, but she didn't feel entirely right  
  
exiling Winter down there, either.  
  
  
  
"Um, what's this about a tattoo?" Kim's brow  
  
crinkled.  
  
  
  
"It's the equivalent of a genie's bottle," Kerry told  
  
her, patting her navel. "It appeared on me when I  
  
took...responsibility for Winter." The word  
  
'ownership' was one she'd sworn never to use in  
  
conjunction with the woman.  
  
  
  
The brow uncrinkled, then raised. "Really? Can I see  
  
it?"  
  
  
  
"Kim..." Kerry felt the faintest of blushes.  
  
  
  
"You two should be alone," Winter said softly,  
  
crossing to kiss Kerry's forehead, then gently pulling  
  
Kim's down for a similar kiss. There was a slight air  
  
of sadness as she turned and walked out again.  
  
  
  
Kerry watched her go with a feeling of guilt, then  
  
turned to catch Kim also staring after her. "Were you  
  
admiring her legs?" she muttered.  
  
  
  
"Hmm?" Kim abruptly returned her attention to Kerry.   
  
"I'm sorry, what?"  
  
  
  
Kerry stared at her suspiciously. "You're thinking  
  
something. What is it?"  
  
  
  
"Ohhh, nothing..."  
  
  
  
Taking hold of two fistfuls of blonde curls, Kerry  
  
pulled Kim's face down to hers, noses touching.   
  
"Spill," she demanded softly.  
  
  
  
Kim's hands slid around her waist, molding their  
  
bodies together in that delicious, familiar way.   
  
"Well...it seems unfair to kick Winter out of your bed  
  
in the middle of the night like this..."  
  
  
  
"But you don't intend to wait until tomorrow night, do  
  
you?" There was no denying that Kim would be sharing  
  
that same bed with her before sleep came for either of  
  
them.  
  
  
  
Instead of answering, Kim looked thoughtful, a trace  
  
of wickedness in her eye. "Would you say," she said  
  
at last, "that your bed was big enough for three  
  
people?"  
  
  
  
Kerry feared she might faint. 


End file.
